Jason Houston

Biography:
Photojournalist and documentary photographer Jason Houston has spent over 20 years photographing community, culture, and how we live on the planet for editorial and NGO clients. His engaged, long-term approach to complex issues captures...
read on

PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECT

Selected Singles Portfolio

Traditional tattoos often cover much of the body and are similar to henna and last for several weeks. The paints are botanical. The black is made from huito and the red is made from Achiote. From a March 2015 expedition in the Peruvian Amazon up the Curanja River (Rio Curanja) visiting indigenous communities and the Purús Communal Reserve (Reserva Comunal Purús) bordering the Alto Purús National Park (Parque Nacional Alto Purús) on assignment with Andrew Lawler, the Upper Amazon Conservancy, and Pro Purús for Science Magazine with support from the Pulitzer Foundation. Our goal was to look at the dynamics between local indigenous communities, Isolated Indigenous Communities ("Uncontacted" tribes or Publeos Indigeneros en Asolado or PIAs) and protected areas for cultural and environmental conservation.

Atlantic Red Crab, caught in 2000 feet of water 60-80 miles off the coast of the mid and north Atlantic is the only MSC certified crab in North America. This crab was caught on the Hannah Boden, a fishing boat made famous by the book and movie "A Perfect Storm". Casey's Seafood in Newport News, VA receives and processes crab from the mid-Atlantic region.

Herennia multipuncta, commonly known as theornamental tree trunk spider. From a March 2009 trip with writer William deBuys traveling to Indonesian Borneo (Central Kalimantan, Indonesia) to visit with NGOs Yayorin and Orangutan Foundation UK to explore the social and environmental dynamics of forest conservation in and around the Lamandau Wildlife Reserve.

Don Manuel Vicente Restrepo is a farmer in El Rincon, upstream from La Unión. His land includes several headwaters that supply the El Rincon valley and La Unión below. Through reciprocal agreements with water utilities and users in La Unión, Manuel receives incentives in the form of planning and infrastructure to more sustainably mange his land, including planning crop and grazing rotations, conservation easements near water courses, assistance with converting to agroforestry, and basic infrastructure such as fencing and building materials to make it all possible. Manuel has gone from subsistence farming to being a leader in his community, employing neighbors in and teaching neighbors about the projects he is implimenting.

From a September 2010 assignment in Loreto, Baja del Sur, Mexico to document Rare Conservation's Pride & Fisheries Fellows program to support the development of more sustainable fisheries by empowering the local community to learn about, take pride in, and better manage their resources.

Sue and Ken Miller own and run Birchrun Hills Farm, a dairy farm producing handmade farmstead cheese as well as beef, veal, and pork, primarily for the local market. Cows are milked in the morning and the raw milk, still warm, is taken 4 miles down the road to the make house they rent from Camphill Village.

Willamette Confluence Preserve, OR. In October 2015, The Nature Conservancy's Southern Rockies Wildland Fire Module (based In Colorado) traveled to the Willamette Valley In Oregon for three weeks to help TNC Oregon and other local stakeholders including US Fish & Wildlife, US Forest Service, and BLM with prescribed burns of the grassland prairies and oak savannas. Burns ranged from several acres to well over 100 acres and are intended to reduce woody material encroaching on the prairies and promote regeneration of native species in this historically fire adapted ecosystem.

Mackrel fishermen (names unavailable) fish along the shore with small boats and siene nets, trapping fish against the beach and hauling the catch up onto the sand. Nearshore artisianal and semi industrial fishing is an important part of Seychelles's culture and economy. Beau Vallon, Mahé Island, Seychelles.

Ice is the lifeblood of any fish port. The ice brokers sell carts of ten-cubic-foot blocks to the commercial boats. Local kids scramble as they scrounge chips to bag up and resell to retail buyers. Nearby, an elderly man picks up the last melting flakes to cool his single fish and a soda on the walk home. Ice is essential to the industry and community. Without ice, transport of fish is non-existent, as fish cannot make it beyond the limited local market without spoiling. Access to ice provides fishermen the ability to grow their markets beyond their local brokers and potentially fetch higher prices for their catch. Fish Port, Mercedes, Philippines.

Slaughtering a pig. In this town comprised of mostly fishermen, all working in the same overfished sea, raising pigs provides both food security and an alternate source of income. One can get ₱7,000-12,000 ($150-250) for a pig depending on whether they butcher and sell them at once to a broker on the mainland (wholesale) or butcher and sell them piece-by-piece locally (retail) to neighbors. Caringo Island, Philippines.

Dragging Illegal Fishing Gear Ashore to Be Confiscated. Official patrols happen once a month. But Caringo’s fishermen watch for illegal activities every time they are out — some are even deputized to apprehend infringers. The patrol I joined consisted of a mix of seven men from Caringo and the mainland and at least four guns, including a shotgun and a submachine gun (though the firepower is more for show and authority than actual confrontation). Five kilometers out from Caringo, we identified two boats illegally fishing with trawling dredge nets and raced upon them. The deputies boarded the boats and escorted them back to Caringo, where officials recorded the infraction and confiscated their fish (worth about ₱250 or about $5) and their gear (worth a more significant ₱50,000 or about $1,000). Caringo Island, Philippines.

Willamette Confluence Preserve, OR. In October 2015, The Nature Conservancy's Southern Rockies Wildland Fire Module (based In Colorado) traveled to the Willamette Valley In Oregon for three weeks to help TNC Oregon and other local stakeholders including US Fish & Wildlife, US Forest Service, and BLM with prescribed burns of the grassland prairies and oak savannas. Burns ranged from several acres to well over 100 acres and are intended to reduce woody material encroaching on the prairies and promote regeneration of native species in this historically fire adapted ecosystem.

Visiting the farm of Don Filomon Delgado Toro, the Secretario de Medio Ambiente de la Ronda Central de Nueva Cajamarcas, in the buffer zone surrounding the main protected area of the Alto Mayo. This farm was typical of most in the region, cutting forest to grow mostly corn and coffee. Conservation efforts in the region will focus on helping them convert to more sustainable practices, including reforestation for shade grown coffee.